Emergency Care
The GWCBC staff is equipped with emergency medications, fetal monitoring, oxygen and resuscitation equipment. Midwives do not do cesarean sections, forceps deliveries or offer pain medication during labor. Situations requiring these interventions require transport to the hospital.
While most midwives have low cesarean section rates, compared to the national average of 29%, cesarean sections and/or other medical interventions are possibilities for any woman having a baby. These are rarely emergencies and generally occur only after labor has been going on long enough to determine that birth is unlikely to occur normally. The time needed to know whether a normal birth is possible is the same whether a woman is having her baby in the hospital, at home or in the birth center.
Although emergencies are rare, if, during labor, it becomes necessary for you to be referred for care in the hospital, the midwife is trained and equipped to begin treatment and to transport you and/or your baby. In an emergency situation, 911 will be called and you will be transported to the closest hospital by ambulance. The midwife will stay with you in the hospital as long as possible, but your care will be managed and administered by a physician and hospital staff at the point of transfer.
If you choose to transfer care at any point prior to the onset of active labor, the GWCBC staff will facilitate the transfer of care to another provider. In general, this transfer of care terminates the client/ midwife contract.
